Instagram has more than 1 billion daily users and half of them follow at least one business. If your business sells products online, you should be aware of another opportunity to build your business: Instagram Shop.

What is Instagram Shop?

Instagram Shop is a new e-commerce destination that makes it easier to connect with your customers — and makes it easier for them to spend money with you.

Accessible directly from Instagram’s main navigation menu, users can browse shops, see editors’ picks, shop collections and more right from the app. Based on previous interactions, Instagram shows users more of what they are likely to be interested in buying.

Instagram Shop will be piggybacking off of the new Facebook and Pinterest Shops concept. Here’s what you need to set up an Instagram shop:

• An Instagram business profile. If your business has a personal account, it’s easy to convert.
• A country where Instagram Shop is available. There are many countries eligible — including the U.S. and Canada — but check this list for full availability.
• A Facebook business page. Your Instagram profile and your Facebook business page need to be connected so you can set up your product catalog in Facebook.
• Physical goods to sell. As of right now, Instagram is not supporting non-physical goods and services, although it may happen in the future.

Instagram Shop Benefits

If you are considering setting up an Instagram shop, you should be aware of some of the benefits:

• It makes shopping easier. Your potential customers are already on Instagram, so you are bringing your store to them. Your Shop gives them the chance to browse your catalog, learn more about the products, ask questions and check pricing. They can like and save products to come back to later. When they make a purchase, Facebook saves their contact information so you can keep them in-the-know about processing and delivery.
• You can promote your product directly. Once your product catalog is set up, you can tag and promote those individual products in your posts and stories. This bypasses the one-link limit that sits in your profile and forces you to direct potential customers to “link in bio.”
• Reach users who are likely to purchase. Instagram’s Shopping Explore tab is customized based on user interest and engagement. When you tag one of your products in a post or optimize it with hashtags, that product will appear in the tab and in front of people who are most likely to buy it.

If you are interested in building an Instagram Shop for your business, Web Strategy Plus can help. We are a full-service marketing agency here to help you grow your business. Call us today at 877-224-0478 or click this link to schedule your free consultation! For more tips to grow your business, check us out on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.